One Good Man (MF)

Tyler had one job to do: keep the boss’s daughter happy. As an advertising executive by day, and a ladies' man by night, it didn’t seem all that difficult, in his mind. Especially when a promotion was in order.

Enter Madison Lee. As a tough business woman and owner of the lingerie company Black Lace, she has seen her fair share of losers looking to get her attention for nothing more than a one-night-stand. In her mind, Tyler is no different.

4 BOOKS: "Two beautiful, rich, successful, work-oriented people, Tyler Gipson and Madison Lee Winters, strike sparks off each other at their first encounter and keep at it with determination as they struggle with unresolved issues in their past that bedevil them. Another attribute they share is the unwillingness to forgive, an attribute that threatens to steal their change at happiness. Tyler, a New York ad company executive, still playing an adolescent game with his maturity-challenged friends, gets punched in the jaw by Madison, his boss’s daughter who is the owner of a very profitable company in Los Angeles that she built from scratch. His mouth-watering good looks and winsome ways make him prey for predatory women, but he knows the pitfalls and uses his charm for business and pleasure. Years ago, a devastating experience with a woman that cost him a good job and estranged him from his family taught Tyler a hard lesson. He is cautious and upfront about “no commitment” with the women he enjoys. This worked for ten years then Madison set his world on its ear. Madison, bitter about the faithlessness of men, is known as the Ice Princess. Determine to never let another man close enough to hurt her; she wreaks havoc on her own life and on the lives of others. Her sister Jasmine is the only exception. Seemingly trapped on a merry-go-round of proofing she needs nobody, Madison hiding her caring, loving side and makes life miserable. Her inability to forgive warps her judgment to a scary point. Conflicts, humor, emotional upheavals, and a fair amount of manipulating along with some high-flying loves scenes make One Good Man thrilling and attention keeping. Lexie Davis packs a tremendous amount into this short novel about One Good Man and one awesome woman, to give the reader a delightful story." -- Camellia, Long and Short Reviews

4 TEA CUPS: "I really enjoyed this story with the exception of the on-again and off-again aspects of the relationship between Tyler and Madison. The storyline was quite good and the characters were both realistic and full of emotions. I really liked Tyler’s character. He comes off as a player in the beginning but as the story progresses you see that he is not a player at all just a little scared to enter a relationship. Madison is also known as the Ice Bitch which she carries off clearly. I found myself having a hard time liking her at first but soon really connected with her. I was really happy with the way things ended up for these two. The plot for this story is quite good and I’m really looking forward to reading more stories by Ms Davis. She’s good a great writing style." -- Christy, Happily Ever After Reviews

Read more

Excerpt

The runway was set. Only, just as Madison suspected, she was worried about whether or not Tyler would come. She should have slapped Jasmine for suggesting this absurd idea, but she did have a few good points. She just wished he wasn’t her archenemy.

“Ms. Lee, we’re set to go on in five,” a stagehand announced to her in passing.

Madison nodded, twisting her hands into knots as she looked around for Tyler. She told him to be there at six. It was five till seven. Just like a man to be late. Just like a man to make a woman wonder. Just like…

“Looking for me?” Tyler came up behind her and pressed his hand against the small of her back. She shouldn’t have liked the touch and willed her body to move away, though she remained stiffly in place.

“You’re late.” She turned toward him, putting them at an awkward closeness.

“No. I got here at six just like you said.” He pointed to the spot of the backstage area where he evidently came from. “I’ve been minding my own business standing over there watching as this whole production came together.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Right. I didn’t see you.”

“You had bigger things to worry about.” He turned her around and gently rubbed the tension from her shoulders. “Relax.”

The event was a black-tie affair, and her slinky little black dress left little to the imagination. Her assistant, Maura, told her to wear it for the premier of the new line, and she was stupid enough to listen. Now with Tyler standing this close and his body heat surrounding her, she wished she had worn a nun’s habit.

“You smell really good.” Madison’s eyes popped open not realizing her thoughts came out as comprehensible words. “Uh, I mean…”

“Shh.”

She knew he was laughing at her and tried to force her mind back to work. But how could she with him touching her, making her body react to his presence in the same room?

“Ms. Lee, I can’t get this to work.” One of the models, holding a string and wearing a frown, complained.

She wore the classic Blacklace nightie, the purple lace fabric falling to the middle of her thighs. The brassier portion of the lingerie should have been tied off to give her breasts definition. But evidently the string broke and the outfit was ruined.

“What happened to the string?” Madison asked as the stagehand lined up the models in show order.

“I guess it broke.” The model shrugged.

“It broke?” Madison jerked away from Tyler, looking for something to clasp the fabric with since she didn’t want to promote a faulty product.

“May I?” Tyler asked the model.

She gave him a naughty grin and nodded her approval.

He pinched the fabric between her breasts, then grabbed a small clothespin to hold it in place. When through, he used the ruffled fabric to hide his intervention and made the outfit look as if nothing had happened at all. He motioned her toward the runway line and sneaked a peek at Madison’s stunned expression.

“I don’t even want to know.” She shook her head, gaining a laugh from him as she began pulling out items for the second round on the runway.

“Ms. Lee, Taylor didn’t show up. She’s stuck in traffic, and it doesn’t look like she’s going to make it in time to model the Bella teddy.” Maura’s eyes were wide and intense.

“Shit. She was fitted for it over a month ago. Nobody else can wear her size.”

“Uh, one person here wears her size,” Maura corrected, looking between Tyler and her boss.

“Who?”

“You.”

“No way.” Madison shook her head, even though she knew she’d end up prancing around on that runway half-naked. “Oh, why is this happening?”

“I’ll go get the design.” Maura, who clearly was looking for an excuse to get away from her hostile boss, turned and practically ran from them.

“What’s the Bella teddy?” Tyler asked, amused.

“None of your damn business,” Madison spat. “God. I’ve got to go out there half-naked with my nipples shining and have my picture plastered all over the front of every fashion magazine.”

“I thought you modeled your clothes?”

She turned, her heels screeching on the tiled floor. “For design purposes only. If I like the way it feels, American women will like it as well.”

Tyler pursed his lips and looked at the cart of gadgets beside them, while Maura brought the white lace teddy to her. Her heart fluttered, and she felt faint. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t expose herself like this.

Being in a photo was one thing. Images could be air-brushed before they went public. But to be live and walking around half-naked in front of an audience, that was a whole other story, a story she didn’t want to get involved in.

“Go put the teddy on,” Tyler said, bending down to the cart as he went through the gadgets. “I’m going to help you.”